Spexis AG announced results from an in vitro study evaluating the effects of combining Spexis' potent CXCR4 inhibitor balixafortide (BLX) with several conventional or targeted therapies on the market in B-cell lymphoma models. The research was conducted under the leadership of Prof. Francesco Bertoni at the renowned Institute of Oncology Research in Bellinzona, Switzerland. The study results demonstrated that the addition of either BLX or another CXCR4 inhibitor from the Spexis macrocycles platform, SPX5551, to conventional or targeted therapies, including the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib, the P13K inhibitor copanlisib and the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib, showed an increase in anti-proliferative activity, either additive or synergistic, across all tested B-cell lymphomas.

These data suggest that the addition of balixafortide or SPX5551 has the potential to improve the effect of BCR inhibitors and may overcome resistance to BTK and PI3K inhibitors in the treatment of patients with certain types of B-cell lymphoma. The study was designed to assess whether the pharmacological inhibition of CXCR4 could increase the anti-tumor activity of various anti-lymphoma agents across different B-cell lymphoma cell lines, including some with secondary resistance to BTK and PI3K inhibitors. Anti-proliferative activity was measured by the MTT assay in cell lines derived from mantle cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and marginal zone lymphoma.

The MTT assay is used to measure cellular metabolic activity as an indicator of cell viability, proliferation and cytotoxicity.